


Date Night

by Starlithorizon



Series: Alchemy and Guitar Ties [5]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-15
Updated: 2013-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-25 16:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/640699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlithorizon/pseuds/Starlithorizon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin's big plans go awry, to no one's surprise. Luckily, he has Arthur to help make the best of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Date Night

Martin cleared his throat for the fourth time, tugging on the cuff of his sleeve as he did so. The shirt was old and worn and a size too big for him, but it was the second nicest he owned. The first was part of his uniform, and he only wore that when it was absolutely necessary. His slacks, also second nicest, were just beginning to fray around the hems, and his jacket had certainly seen better days. Still, he'd shown up looking as nice as he could without a captain's hat, and surely that had to count for something.

Arthur beamed and kissed him lightly on the nose as he led him out the door and to Martin's van. Douglas hadn't been kindhearted enough to give Arthur his car back for dating purposes, so the rickety old thing would have to do.

"You look great, Skip," Arthur enthused as he fastened his seatbelt. Martin blushed furiously. He knew that it would have been a lie, had the words been spoken by anyone but Arthur.

"Thanks, Arthur. So do you."

The other man beamed as he was wont to do, and Martin felt a surge of affection in his chest like a plane taking off. He lightly brushed his fingers against Arthur's hand and started the van. It started well enough, spluttering and clanking and generally making an awful racket, but the man in the passenger seat made it somehow less than awful. If Martin was being really honest, Arthur made it at least a little bit brilliant. He was on the way to one of the nicest restaurants in Fitton, his pockets sighing blissfully with the weight of the money he'd saved for this, and he was in the van with someone who loved him dearly. Honestly, there was nothing b—

A loud, metallic clank/thud/bang sounded, breaking Martin's reverie. The van slowed to a crawl before lurching to a stop.

They hadn't even gone half a mile, and already the van had broken down.

Martin didn't rage at the decrepit machine. He didn't hit the steering wheel, or shout abuse, or do much at all. He sighed deeply, resigned, and turned to Arthur with an apology in the back of his mouth. But Arthur didn't let it leave. Instead, the steward grinned and unhooked his safety belt. He leaned near to Martin and kissed him sweetly.

"We can push it to that kerb there and deal with it tomorrow," Arthur suggested. Martin was about to protest, but another kiss was pressed into his lips, stopping it. "Mum's going out tonight  anyway. It's not a far walk back to the house. We'll cook something and watch a movie and it'll be perfect."

Martin offered a weak kiss to his boyfriend and they undertook the task of getting the van out of the middle of the road. Once that was done, and a moment was taken to recover, they took each other's hands and began the walk.

* * *

Arthur wasn't a bad cook, not really. He was too adventurous in the kitchen, to be sure, but give him instructions and proper ingredients, and he could make edible food. _Delicious_ edible food. With the help of Martin, they knocked out a delicious dinner for two to be eaten on the sofa while watching _Casablanca_. They cleaned their plates and ended up paying very little attention to the movie at all.

First, there was cuddling. Then, kissing, which naturally followed the cuddling. The kissing turned into snogging, no surprise there, but that somehow turned into wrestling and play-fighting.

When they went up to Arthur's room halfway through the movie, they did none of those things, and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms, dopey smiles on their faces.

Honestly, this night had gone far better than Martin had anticipated, or even hoped, and he couldn't be more grateful for the steward that was wrapped around him. Sometimes, if he looked a bit objectively at the good things in relation to the bad, he could see that he did lead a sort of charmed life, and it was almost solely due to Arthur.

Martin smiled even more and snuggled down into Arthur's embrace, falling asleep easily.


End file.
